All Ears Audiobooks discussion

i just finished a road trip - 500 miles on Saturday, return home Sunday.

So, on the way there i listened to the last bit of Agatha Christie's Crooked House narrated by Hugh Fraser of PBS Mystery fame. After reading literally hundreds of mysteries and being able to correctly identify who done it usually by 2/3 of the way through the book, it was refreshing to have such a twisted tale that i unable to pick it apart. Dame Agatha was an amazing story teller and this is one of her best.

After that i listened to A Common Life, book 6 of Jan Karon's Mitford series. I usually throughly enjoy my forays into Mitford, but this particular one was a bit of a dissapointment. John McDonough's throaty voice was a good as ever, but the plot was very thin and there was a lot of repetiton of old story lines.

However, the second Mitford book we listened too, Shepherds Abiding, book 8, had both my hubby and i laughing out loud several times. The plot was cute and the characters as life like as usual.

I finally have Friday Night Knitting Club back from the library so now I get to finish that off. I also checked out Bless Me Ultima - i'm really looking forward to listening to that.

I have just finished the Legends Of Dune trilogy, and Dune 7(Hunters/Sandworms of Dune.) I enjoyed Scott Brick's narration so much, I picked up both versions of Dune that he narrated(one with cast, and one solo), and am looking forward to Mr. Brick leading me through the rest of the series all over again. Mr Brick, if you read this, I thank you for making fall in love with the Dune Universe all over again. My girlfriend may not share my sentiments ;-)

And thanks as always to the all ears team for giving me the tools to be a bibliophile once again, and for running a great little shop. See you soon!

I just finished "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer.
This book is better than Twilight. I found it is many interesting scenes besides the love between Bella and Edward. Jacob becomes the most important person in this book, but suddenly loses the focus at the end. Little bit disappointed.

Donna wrote: "i just finished a road trip - 500 miles on Saturday, return home Sunday.

Wow, 1000 miles in a weekend! Thank goodness for audiobooks! and thanks for sharing what you listened to - great reviews!

OK, I just knew I was going to have to eat my words...Last week, I was whining about Mrs. Dalloway. The meandering narrative had me absolutely convinced that I was ADHD. Well this past week, I decided to listen to Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Hours. The novel is about a single day in the lives of 3 women, who are loosely tied together by the book, Mrs. Dalloway. The women - Virginia Woolf, who is just starting to write Mrs. Dalloway, Laura Brown, who is reading Mrs. Dalloway, and Clarissa Vaughan who is planning a party for a dying friend who has playfully nicknamed her Mrs. Dalloway. Although the women are different ages, occupations, and live in different time periods, their stories have some very interesting common threads. I found this book to be absolutely brilliant. I loved the similarities between the stories and how the plot tied in very closely to Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway (I guess I was paying attention after all!). If you listen to this book, you will definitely want to read Mrs. Dalloway first. It ties the stories together and makes The Hours a much richer experience. So, reading this book had me running over to wikipedia to learn more about Virginia Woolf. And yes, I will probably increase my rating to 3 stars for Mrs. Dalloway (chomp chomp). But the author I really want to add to my shelf is Michael Cunningham - what a clever and enjoyable book!

Julie at All Ears wrote: Wow, 1000 miles in a weekend! Thank goodness for audiobooks!..."

Yeah, it was a very long way to travel for a short time, but it was totally worth it. Lots of really good family related stuff happened, including meeting some of my son-in-laws sisters.

One of his sisters is blind (and an amazingly capable woman, regardless of blindness) and as soon as she found out that i enjoy audio books she had to show me her devices for listening to books. Pretty cool. What i was most impressed by was the "voice over" movies with the descriptions of the visual elements interspersed with the traditional audio. Very cool. We listened to several minutes of one of the Harry Potter movies and it was quite well done.

Are voice over movies available to the general public like audio books? I'm absolutely the worst at sitting down and watching a movie, but if the are available like audio books i'd throw one in the CD player of my car.

Donna wrote: "Julie at All Ears wrote: Wow, 1000 miles in a weekend! Thank goodness for audiobooks!..."

I've never heard of the voice over movies! Let us know what you find out!

just finished the latest Jack Reacher adventure. A wonderful listen, well narrated.

So, after a long interruption, i finally got to finish Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. There were things about this story i didn't like - the author rambles on and on about what a wonderful person Georgia Walker is. We got it - let's move on!! Some of the story line is rather predictable. Dakota is far too sweet for a typical 12-13 year old.

And yet, there's things about it i enjoyed. I liked everyone in the book. It's rare to run into a story where i like all the characters and wouldn't mind having them over for dinner. Think that's why i like the Jan Karon books too - i just like the characters.

the trials and tribulations of the characters were real enough and i liked the grace and dignity and insanity that was used to face each trial.

I probably won't run out and find a copy of Knit Two, but at the same time i might listen to it some day.

Everlasting by Iris Johansen
Everlasting
I picked this book because Iris Johansen is one of my favorite authors. I started listening to this book about three weeks ago. It has taken me this long to figure out how to write a review. I enjoy a racey novel every now and again, but I would also like some kind of plot. What is the plot....I have no clue...I do know that a princess askes a wealthy man to help rescue a woman who raised her. That is about all I got because, once they met, all the author wrote about was sex. They meet, they want sex, they begin to plot the rescue, they want sex....okay already, get it over with and get to the plot. It was like reading a Harlequin novel. At lease with the Harlequins, you expect the sex. Soooo....how did it end....I have no idea....after three discs I could not take it any more I returned the novel.....and there were only four discs to the whole book!!!! This book was very disappointing.

Walking in Circles Before Lying Down/Merrill Markoe

What would your dog say about your life if suddently he/she could speak? I am sure mine would have plenty to say. This audio book was very interesting coming from a dog's view if they could talk and what they think about our campanions, our life styles and general feelings. Their lives are so basic, food, shelter, play. Anything else is superficial. Chuck tries to help his owner out from family to relationships.

Very entertaining book

i'm on disc 4/17 in the life of edgar sawtelle-WOW!!!
i wanted a juicy,big,enthralling story, and so far i've got one! set on a farm in wis.(no southern drawl), a story of a boys upbringing in a world of dogs,especially bred by his family. different,engrossing-not sure what's coming up, but sofar, i can't wait to get back into the car!

Great news, everyone - I finished my quilt! It took me less time to get a Bachelor's Degree, but it is finally complete. Thanks to all you quilters, knitters and tattlers (??) for your inspiration. Reading all the posts about how people listen tu audiobooks while crafting inspired me to dust off my quilt. And I got to listen to some very good audiobooks - Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South (think Pride and Prejudice during England's Industrial Revolution) and Ernest Hemingway's To Have and to Have Not (just like The Old Man and the Sea but instead of a struggle between man vs. a marlin, it is man struggling to survive during the Depression). But, the audiobook that I just finished was Island in the Sea of Time, by S.M. Stirling.

This book is the first in Stirling's Nantucket series and is a speculative fiction piece that revolves around what would happen if the island of Nantucket and all of its inhabitants were tranported to the Bronze Age. The book is filled with many fun 'What if' scenarios. What if modern man ran into Mayan cannibals in South America? Who would win and who would be dinner? The book is a large scale Survivor game and you find yourself cheering for Team Nantucket. The narration is well done with just the perfect amount of Cape Cod accent. And the book adds just a bit of ancient history to give it some appeal to historical fiction buffs. Definitely a fun audiobook to try out!

Julie at All Ears wrote: "Great news, everyone - I finished my quilt! It took me less time to get a Bachelor's Degree, but it is finally complete. Thanks to all you quilters, knitters and tattlers (??) for your inspiratio..."
How about posting a picture of the quilt? I'd love to see it.

I just finished reading The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. I read this book for school, before we went on a field trip to Gettysburg. Sharra tells the battle of Gettysburg not as a history of the battle, but a history of the people who fought there, which makes the book unique. Reading it really makes you wonder what shattered futures and lost dreams fell in those Pennsylvania fields.

I just finished reading 1776 by David McCullough. 1776 was a fantastic chronicle of the most important year in American history. McCullough’s deft use of historical letters and diaries is impressive. McCullough also focuses the story mostly around the people who fought in the battles, not the battles themselves. After studying about the events of this book in history class, reading McCullough’s masterpiece made it come alive like never before. You don’t have to like history to enjoy 1776; the book is well written and incredibly detailed. If you think you know the American Revolution, read 1776 and please reconsider, it will make you look at America from a whole different angle.

Hi Minnie,

Here is a picture of my quilt. Thanks for asking!

Julie:
The quilt is beautiful. You should be proud.

cj

One thing I love about reading is that one books often suggests another. Although I was sorry to say goodbye to Olive in Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, (2009 Pulitzer Prize Winner for fiction) I found myself in the mood for a "feel good read." So many customers have given praise to Jennifer Cheverini's Elm Creek Quilt series, I gave The Run Away Quilt (Elm Creek Quilt Series, book 4) a try. Turns out I was in the mood for everything about it, especially the tone and pacing of the narrator's first person account of the years directly preceding the civil war. Then it seemed only natural to move from quilting to a knitting themed story, so I tried The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. Again, a thoroughly enjoyable listen, not too deep, not too light. Textured descriptions of the amazing qualities of yarn's look and feel, and descriptions of the meditative nature of knitting are woven into the story. (At this point, I dug out my knitting bag and launched into a sampler so I could experience some of what was described in the book.) Next up - rugs. I had started but never finished Blood of Flowers by Anita Anita Amirrezvani, a local author who's first novel is the story of a young girl's coming of age in 17th century Persia. The narrator's rich voice made me feel like I was sitting by a camp fire in the dessert being told an Arabian tale full of vivid descriptions of everything to do with rug making. So if you ever want to turn a "fibers friend" onto audiobooks, I'd recommend starting with these 3 books. They'll be hooked!

Lilly at All Ears Audiobooks wrote: "One thing I love about reading is that one books often suggests another. Although I was sorry to say goodbye to Olive in Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, (2009 Pulitzer Prize Winner for fictio..."

Hi Lilly,

I've read the whole Elm Creek series as well as the other two that you mentioned - it's one of my favorite sub-genres since I do a lot of crafts. Others that are fibre oriented that are both good - the lace reader and Zen and the art of Knitting. I didn't like Kate Jacob's book - Knit Two as much as I liked her first book, then theres the one about the tapestry makers - something about a unicorn - the same author that wrote the Girl with the Pearl Earring, which is a great book - is it Chevalier?

Tara

Tara wrote: "Lilly at All Ears Audiobooks wrote: "One thing I love about reading is that one books often suggests another. Although I was sorry to say goodbye to Olive in Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, (..."

Another 'fiber' title is Sandra Dallas' Prayers for Sale which revolves around quilting. I haven't listened to this one, but lots of good reviews from customers!

I recently had one of those milestone doctor visits. Yup, I've reached the big Five Oh. My doctor recommended 2 books for me to read - Younger Next Year for Women and The End of Overeating, and YES!, both books are available in audio.

Younger Next Year for Women is written by a doctor (Henry Lodge) and his patient (Chris Crowley). I found this book to be an easy read, very informative and I recommend it to anyone who is worried that the second half of our lives might not be as fun and rich as the first half (and guys - there is a version for men if you want to avoid topics like hot flashes). From this book I learned that the gradual decay that our society associates with aging - osteoporosis, stiffness, arthritis, dementia, etc - is NOT inevitable. As hunter/gatherers, our bodies were not designed to sit behind a desk and eat chocolate chip cookies. We need to exercise - ok here is the hard part - at least 6 times a week. Now this isn't new information, but Dr. Lodge presented enough explanation on how our bodies work, and the consequences of not exercising, to convince me to change my habits. I have been recommending this book to my family and friends - don't delay or decay! Read this book!

Now after 50 years, you can no longer call chubby thighs cute or a result of too much baby fat. So, I also listened to my doctor's 2nd recommendation The End of Overeating. This NY Times bestseller has been featured on several television and radio shows, partly because it is written by Dr. David Kessler, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Kessler spends a huge portion of the book discussing how food manufacturers and restaurants add fat, sugar and salt to make it more palatable and how our body reacts to these ingredients. He even dedicates whole chapters to chains like Cinnabon and goes over many of the tastier items on the Chili's menu. He discusses the biology of food addiction and he gives some suggestions (avoid contact with unhealthy foods), but after finishing the book, I didn't feel like I knew how to turn my penchant for sweets into a craving for celery. I did find myself craving a Cinnabon though. I admire Dr. Kessler for all that he has done in trying to get full disclosure in food labels and restaurant selections. His goal of ending childhood obesity is wonderful. But, his book is not going to end chubby thighs, at least for me. Hopefully his work will lead to healthier choices and a better overall awareness of the causes of obesity. So, if you are interested in how our food industry is contributing to obesity in our society or want to know how many teaspoons of sugar are in a Strawberry and Cream Frappuccino (18!!), then you will find this book interesting and informative. But, if you are looking for a diet book, then this is not it.

Long Lost by Harlan Coben


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Maybe the best Coben book ever! I forgot how much I liked Myron Bolitar and his cast of friends. There is Big Cindy, Win, Little Pocahontas, and a great mystery.

I am always a little surprised by Coben for making his protagonist a talent agent and naming him Myron. It seems like every Myron book I pick up to read I wonder how I am going to buy into Myron as an heroic character. I mean with names like Jack Reacher, Alex Hawk, Bob Swagger, or Jason Bourne I get the sense that those guys are heroic but Myron Bolitar? Of course this Myron is the most talented of all talent agents and with a heart as big as they come he rescues damsels in distress and finds love in the process.

I was surprised by where the book took me and the ideas I had to consider. A great book! Oh and the narration was terrific. Really added to the whole greatness of this book.

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The Renegades by T. Jefferson Parker


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
T. Jefferson Parker is the Man! This is a sequel to "L.A. Outlaws" and is an even better read. L.A. Sheriff Deputy Charlie Hood is one of the real good guys. He cannot be bought, nor scared off. He will run down each criminal he sets his sights on.

Each of Parker's books paints the bad guy in such a light that you sort of root for the bad guy. In this book it was even more so for me. The bad guy, a sociopathic serial killer is a sympathetic character. I was conflicted on whether or not I wanted Hood to catch this killer until the very end of the book when it was apparent how truly evil this killer was. He was just so smooth and I think the narrator of the audio book really helped sell him as sympathetic.

I compare Parker to Elroy and Connely as they write about crime and crime fighters in Southern California. Not quite as dark as Elroy but a great writer who is on the very top of my favorites. The narration of this audio book was outstanding and added to the impact. I am sure there is at least one more Charlie Hood novel to be written.

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8th Confession by James Patterson


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Just exactly what I expected. I can barely remember the book and I finished it yesterday. Maybe I am a little psycho myself but I was rooting for "Pet Girl" to knock off a few more wealthy San Franciscans.

A fun read which I did in Audio. Hard to put down, easy to forget.

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Relentless: A Novel by Dean Koontz


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
What a disappointment! The book has all the makings of a great story and for 7/8 of the book I am thinking that Koontz has hit it out of the park with this one. A great little family, an evil foe with ties to the covert side of our government and I was thinking sequel since it seemed impossible for Mr. Koontz to wrap up all the loose ends in such a short time. Instead everything is wrapped up in a little neat bundle and everyone lives happily ever after.

I personally could have come up with a better ending and I have just been thinking about it for an hour. I figure with Mr. Koontz's fertile imagination we could have a classic 2 book sequel with reader's like me left begging for more and counting the days before the sequel was released. I was thinking of Koontz's Frankenstein series and that he finally finished Frankenstein and he has jumped into the next generation. He could have even tied the two together with the hunchback son of Sherman Wax with the evil folks in his Frankenstein redux.

I love Dean Koontz as an author. He is my very favorite author and I look forward to every book he writes. Throughout the first 7/8 of the book I am totally wrapped up with the tension of the story. Cubby (the voice of the narration of the 1st person perspective) has a great back story that is revealed, his wife Pennie seems to be the perfect match for our hero, and their son Milo is just too precious as the little 6 year old wunderkind. Throw in a teleporting dog named Lassie and I think to myself this is the Super Hero family that can go up against the evil that has so forcefully entered this little family's life. I actually thought of the balance of evil verses good as I read the first 7/8 of the book. I am thinking there existed such powerful evil that God raised up a family to fight this evil, that God was balancing the scales of justice with Cubby Milo and Pennie as the super heroes to battle this implacable foe.

In other words I am transported into this book. I bought into the characters and I truly cared for them. There is a specific foreshadowing by the narrator that one of the 3 will die and I am torn apart worrying about which one it will be. The question is answered but in such a way that I felt cheated about my worry. I felt cheated by the whole ending. I think Mr. Koontz needs a new editor and I would be happy to volunteer for the job. If I would have read the first draft I would have sent Mr. Koontz back to his fertile imagination and challenged him to come up with a more satisfying and worthy ending.

In the end I am wondering if this is just a rip off piece that Mr. Koontz thought of as a way of flipping off book and art critics. The main evil doer here Sherman Wax is a book critic and under another name an art critic. To make Was the villain and then to not flesh out this villain but rather wipe him out in some way that leaves the heroes without blood on their hands is just way too easy. The easy wrap up just makes me so angry I could scream.

Still there is much too love, I read this book as an audio book. One of the side characters in the book loves to read audio books. The narrator is great in the audio book. He does great characters with his voice. I just worry that Mr. Koontz is just writing these books for the money. Maybe Mr. Koontz should take more time between books. Take as least a year to write a book. Maybe with a little more time spent writing the books we might have a classic instead of pulp fiction.

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Candles on Bay Street - K. C. McKinnon

I heard of this story originally when Hallmark made a movie of it (which i only got to see the first half hour of) - and then discovered the book was out of print. When I ran across a copy at a used book sale I nabbed it and it sat on my shelf for a while. A couple weeks ago my hubby and i had a long ride across country and I decided that he might enjoy this as a "read aloud" book. His truck doesn't have a CD player and I have for years read books aloud on long road trips. He enjoyed it so much that he finished it off himself (unusual for him)and left the rest for me to read on my own. Which of course i did.

I grew up across the border from Canada myself, in a small town in upstate NY, so the setting was familiar, even nostalgic. I found the first part of the book dreary (of for god's sake just get over the lost love thing!!) but loved the second half...death and life go hand in hand and how we deal with our mortality is a huge thing.

All in all a good, not great read.

Bless me Ultima - Rudolfo Anaya

It's amazing that i haven't read this before - i spent my senior year of high school in New Mexico and this book was one of the Read On Fort Collins selections too... yet I'd never got around to it.

I have had several people tell me this is one of their favorites of all time, so i had high expectations. And for some reason they were not met. Ultima is a wonderful character, and i wanted more of her. I found Tony's friends mostly annoying. I was also annoyed at the author's treatment of women in general - with the exception of Ultima and one school teacher they were either frivolous girls or over reactive women or witches.

Things i liked about the story though was the battle in Tony's mind about what is "true" and how to determine the will of God. The struggle of good and evil throughout the book was wonderful too.

Wish i could give half stars here because i'd actually make it 3.5 stars - it isn't my favorite of all time, but it is worth your time, especially if you consider it on the same plane as Siddhartha or other books about spiritual journeys.

I recently returned from a long vacation giving me lots of time to listen to a wide variety of audiobooks. My favorite, by far, was The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King (thanks Tara, for the reommendation - I loved it!). This Victorian mystery stars Mary Russell, a bright young teenager who meets a retired Sherlock Holmes. Together they solve some intriguing mysteries. I loved how Mary is able to match wits with Holmes and proves to be an equal in her sleuthing abilities. Jenny Sterlin does a great job narrating with this one. I am definitely going to add the other books in this series to my playlist.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, was also another great listen for me, but I've heard mixed reviews on this book. The main character, Yossarian, is an American bombadier, stationed in Italy during WWII, and he is trying to get relieved from duty by pleading insanity. But if you are sane enough to want to get out of the war, then you can't be insane and must keep fighting, hence Catch 22! The book is filled with absurd characters and situations, but what I really liked was the serious turn it takes when some of the tragedies of war take over. The book becomes not just another satire, but much more moving. The story does jump around quite a bit, making it hard to follow sometimes, but Jay O Saunders' narration, although sometimes obnoxious, is perfect for the fast-paced dark humor of the story. Good anti-war book for people who enjoy satire.

I finished the Percy Jackson series (The Last Olympian), by Rick Riordan. This is a series that I can easily recommend to kids as well as adult fantasy fans. Percy Jackson is a modern day demi-god who has to save Mount Olympus and the rest of the world through a series of heroic quests. Good versus evil with a dose of Greek mythology thrown in. I love how Riordan puts some modern twists to classic stories. For example, in the 2nd book, Percy is trapped on an island, ruled by Circe, an evil enchantress. In Homer's Odyssey, Circe changes Odysseus' band into pigs. In Riordan's version, Percy and his friends are turned into squeaking guinea pigs. Lots of funny moments combined with a good adventure story. There are 5 books in this series and I enjoyed all of them.

My one audio disappointment was Haruki Murakami's, Kafka on the Shore. I picked up this one since it made it onto the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list. For the first 10 hours of the book, I was completely enthralled. The writing style is lyrical - wonderful imagery and a captivating plot. The hero, Kafka Tamura, runs away from home, trying to thwart his father's prophecy that Kafka will kill his father and sleep with his mother (yes - another Greek classic!). The book has some interesting magical realism (talking cats, Colonel Sanders of KFC fame comes to life, etc.) and some unexplained plot twists. The problem I had with this book is at the end, the plot twists were still unexplained. Definitely one of those 'huh?' moments. I loved the writing style, so I will try other Murakami books - he has won several awards and has other titles on the 1001 list. Anyone out there read this book? I'd love to hear an explanation!

Ethics: A History of Moral Thought by Prof. Peter Kreef. This book on ethics was very well presented with an enjoyable amount of history and a solid dose the eternal questions we face on right and wrong, good and bad. It was very informative to have it presented with a strong historical timeline which made me feel like I was watching our civilization build up our foundation of values marble stone by marble stone. And to see how the great minds had such different perspectives and reached differing conclusions makes me realize how we will always struggle to find the common ground as we integrate all of the diverse cultures of our world.

Stone Cold by David Baldacci. Its been a while since I listened to a Baldacci mystery and I was not let down by this one. He starts carefully and casually on two separate story lines, but by the middle he is hitting on all pistons in this action adventure. He does a great job of character development on a broad set of players, bringing into play their past history and their current predicament. They become more and more intertwined with some unexpected twists and turns until he carefully aims them all at the common intersection where things get intense. You won't be disappointed by this one. Whew, now I have to get back to some good non-fiction to lower my blood pressure.

I've just finished a wonderful Inspector Rhebus novel. Quite a good who-done-it with interesting twists and turns but above all I loved the Scottish accent of the reader, James MacPherson. The book is "Strip Jack" by Ian Rankin.

Julie at All Ears wrote: "I recently returned from a long vacation giving me lots of time to listen to a wide variety of audiobooks. My favorite, by far, was The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King (thanks Tara, for the ..."

Neat! Laurie King is my friend's mom! I have been meaning to check out her work for a while. Maybe I'll start with this book.

"Julie at All Ears wrote: "I recently returned from a long vacation giving me lots of time to listen to a wide variety of audiobooks. My favorite, by far, was The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie K..."

I must say though that i had a really hard time with the book. King absolutely tromps all over the original Holmes legend. Holmes is a marvelous character and it is irresistable for some writers to keep from adding to his character, but please, Sir Authur Canon Doyle's Holmes is the only Holmes.

Why is it that Holmes is such an irristable character for other writers? They all end up bending him to their prejudices and inclinations and corrupt what the original was. Holmes is Doyle's creation and for heaven's sake leave him alone!

I read the Beekeeper's Apprentice a while ago for a book group and was appauled - the major reason being the relationship betweeen Holmes and a 15 year old girl. Mary Russell is a likeable enough character and in another setting i'd read a whole series of books about her. But pairing her with an aging Holmes with a romantic undertone (they do get married in a later book) was way too much for this Holmes purist.

I read this for a mother-daughter book club and every mom in the club had exactly the same reaction. The girls mostly identified with Mary, but thought the Holmes/Russell relationship was creepy too.

Anyway, my prejudices :) I also have a hard time with the mystery series based on Jane Austin....

Donna wrote: ""Julie at All Ears wrote: "I recently returned from a long vacation giving me lots of time to listen to a wide variety of audiobooks. My favorite, by far, was The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie ..."

Hi, Donna - love your comments! I have to agree with your point about the age difference between Mary and Holmes - that is pretty creepy. I think a large age difference isn't that bad if they are both adults, but Mary is just an adolescent. And since Mary is an orphan, Holmes sort of fills in the role as a father figure, and is defintely a mentor - Victorian sexual harassment! But while I was listening to the book, all of that didn't bother me. The story seemed credible and I loved the characters. I have to admit that before reading The Beekeeper's Apprentice, I had not read any Sherlock Holmes and because of this book, I picked up The Hound of the Baskervilles and I've just starting reading it aloud to my son. Maybe because I didn't have an image (or at least a likeable impression) of Holmes, I found that I really liked the way she portrayed the detective. Sherlock Holmes is so well known, that writing a book with him as a character is like historical fiction - not that different than the myriad of books written about Henry VIII. It would be interesting to ask the author why she chose such a large age gap, or even included Holmes, vs. a detective of her own creation.

Diana - if you get a chance to talk to Laurie King through your friend, ask her to pipe in - I'd love to see her answer!

And Tara - any comments on this series since you've read all of them?

Hi Donna and Julie,

My first reaction to Donna's response was that I thought the comments were pretty strong. But then again when I think about books that I have read and compared them to lets say the movie version, when I have been disappointed, sometimes I have a pretty strong opinion. I think it has to do with difference between the picture in my mind's eye and what I see. I have been a fan of Sherlock Holmes since I was a girl and have read all the books, love Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes on PBS and surprisingly I don't have a problem with Laurie King taking that character and running in a different direction. I think that King keeps in the spirit of Holmes, so I don't have a conflict between what my prior image/personality of Holmes and what this current series does with him.

About the age difference - if the books started off with a more serious premise, I might have a problem, but for me the Holmes realm is similar to fantasy, so I don't tie it much into reality. The focus for me is more in the realms of ideas, spirituality and intellect. Also since Mary is such a strong person and had to endure many difficulties, I think she is much older than her adolescent years and whatever happened in their relationship was driven/dictated by her, not taken advantage of by Holmes. Yes there is the aspect of the father figure issues and don't know in those scenarios how much free choice she is exercising and how much those dynamics have led her in her choices. As the series continues, I get the sense that they are both happy in the relationship.

It is interesting - as a side note - that Ms. King's husband was a professor emeritus in philosophy(?) at UC Santa Cruz when I met him in about 1980 and he looked to be in his 60-70's at the time - quite a bit older than her. He was a delightful man. The question that I ask myself is if there was an amazing person that was signficantly older than myself - would I consider enter into a relationship - I think the answer would be yes.

As a writer myself, (yes, published, mostly technical non-fiction, mostly magazines, but a also a humor column)i tend to think of the work of an author as belonging to that author. Doyle's Holmes is Doyle's. It's the issue of intellectual property. Holmes is Doyle's creation and thus his property. Why not create a new character, perhaps with some of Holmes characteristics, but who is not Holmes?

I have no problem with Brett's/Granada's Holmes because I've made a bit of a study as to the process of getting a story from print to film. Things that work well in print don't often present themselves well visually and often the story details are changed to make the visual flow work. There were however idiotic films that were made of "Holmes" fighting Nazi's and other inane story lines during the 1940's. Holmes has been used and abused by authors and film makers. A quick look through a book store reveals many adventures based on Holmes that have little in common with the Baker Street detective, some as recent as this year. Holmes in America, science fiction based on Holmes, the science of Holmes, Holmes as an agent for the government, the list is endless and to me unfair to both Doyle and Holmes.

Differences in age aren't an issue to me unless one of the parties is not an adult. I have several relatives in my family tree with 20-25 year differences in their ages. It used to be common for a man to establish himself before taking a wife - that happened a lot in my family. If Mary was even 17 or 18 I'd have no problem with their age difference but 15 is too young for me to feel comfortable.

i hope I wasn't offensive - that isn't my goal. It's an interesting topic of how people bring their morals and feelings with them into reading a book and interacting with characters. If you truly immerse yourself into a book then you are there with the characters and see them through your filters. Ask a book group about a book and chances are you'll get several different answers based on the people in the group. My saying "i don't like this and this is why" is no reflection on how someone else should or does feel, it's just an observation that I, personally, didn't like it and may even find it offensive. I also love having someone say they didn't like one of my favorite books because it forces me to look at it in a new light.

i was just sitting reading "Sophie's World" and it struck me that what i've been objecting to for the Laurie King books is perfectly illustrated here. Anyone read it? Sophie's World is a novel about the history of philosophy... and much more. Sophie is a 14, soon to be 15, year old girl who starts a "correspondence course" on philosophy with an older, odd mentor, Alberto. The relationship between the two of them is totally mentor/student and though some of the philosophers and some other very familiar characters (Red Riding Hood, Aladdin and others) actually make appearances in the book they have cameo roles that fit into the oddity of the moment. I am thoroughly enjoying this book - can't wait to finish off the last 150 pages!

Donna wrote: "i was just sitting reading "Sophie's World" and it struck me that what i've been objecting to for the Laurie King books is perfectly illustrated here. Anyone read it? Sophie's World is a novel ab..."

Hi, Donna.

I did read Sophie's World - many years back though. I remember enjoying the discussion about all the various philosophers... and of course wishing that I was more familiar with them.

I've been thinking more about the relationship between Holmes and Russell and trying to understand why it didn't bother me as I listened to The Beekeeper's Apprentice. I was thinking about other books, specifically Lolita and The Reader. Have you read either of those? In Lolita, the relationship was completely despicable and it seemed clear that Humbert (the older man) was a pedophile. In The Reader, the relationship is between a teenage boy and an older woman. Especially since the story is told from the POV of the boy, you can see that the boy initiates the relationship. This still bothered me, partly because the relationship is purely sexual, and the boy is so much less mature and experienced than the older woman. When we discussed this in my book club I said that there was no way that I would ever want my children (ages 11 and 19) to have a relationship with someone that much older than themselves.

But, for some reason, no alarms went off when I could see the relationship between Mary Russell and Holmes growing beyond apprentice and mentor. Partly, I think it is because in that time period, it was not unusual for teenage girls to be married, and the age difference was also not that uncommon. Although when we first meet Mary she is 15 (?), but by the end of the book, she is 19 (I'm guessing here - anyone know?). But I think what made it ok was that the relationship develops gradually and moves from grudging respect to admiration to love. It is clear that Holmes cares for Mary and is not trying to take advantage of her. That doesn't change how I feel about my own children, but this is 2009 and not Victorian England.

Anyway, I've enjoyed this discussion and debate - just like a virtual bookclub!

Julie

I just listened to Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. What a great book, definitely one of my favorite books of the year. The backbone of the book centers around the elusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyons, an isolated tribe in a remote part of Mexico who are legendary for being amazing endurance runners. McDougall weaves his story around this legend like a runner would meander on a long trail run, exploring many interesting side trails. He holds your attention with the various attempts to attract these runners to race in the US, the history of many of the Ultra races (Badwater, Western States, Leadville Trail 100), the history of running shoes (and barefoot running), the evolution of human running, and the stories behind many famous male and female endurance runners. He includes a cast of colorful characters in this fascinating story of running. A must read for any runner (it will change how you run), and a great story for everyone.

Smash Cut
I really liked this book. True to Sandra Brown's writing, there were a lot of twists and turns. What struck me was she was able to describe the personality and traits of a truly evil person, including the fact that they could be just as charming and gracious as your ordinary next door neighbor and it is even better if the individual is extremely pleasant to the eye. I did not know what the title "Smash Cut" referenced, but did learn the meaning as described in the book. It did fit the character.

A Good Dog The Story of Orson, Who Changed My Life|65057]
This is the second Jon Katz book I have read. I learned about border collies and Labs. Although Orson is his border collie, he also talks about his lab. I definitely relate to his experiences with his lab. I have a labradoodle (designer dog, very popular now). Thank god the poodle part of the dog tends to temper the lab part. She is 96 lbs of pure love and affection. However, she will give you up, the house and everything you own if you give her a treat. She will forever be your friend. So if you need a watchdog and you want a lab, bettter get a second one as the guard dog.

I learned some pretty hard lessons in this book. We make many decisions about our dogs on what we want and not necessary what is best for the dog. The author learns that there is not always a black and white answer to a dog's behavior and he tries many alternatives to understand Orson's. At one point he begins to accept some unconventional methods as well.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

So, i need to start with a disclaimer - yes this book was published in 1719 and it has all kinds of attitudes and prejudices considered awful in the modern world. That said it still has valuable lessons and is still a worthwhile read.

Crusoe's spiritual journey was an intriguing part of the story for me. His transformation from ungrateful youth to content adult was a fabulous addition to the plot for me. I've heard all my life that this is an adventure story, but i would place it right up with Siddhartha for a spiritual journey too.

Listening to this book reminded me that we often have notions of the classics based on what modern authors/screenwriters/critics have done with them. Every time i've read a classic i've found that the actual book is far superior to the "adaptations" I've been exposed to.

Defoe is widely considered the father of the modern novel and after reading Robinson Crusoe it's easy to understand why.

I recently finished 4 audiobooks, 3 that I would recommend and 1 that I would probably not.

A Dirty Job - Christohpher Moore - If you are looking for something light and funny and slightly irreverent, then this is a good choice. Charlie Asher is your leading your typical American life - married, expecting their first child - when he finds out that his new vocation in life is to collect 'soul vessels' of people who are about to die. Written in a No. 2 pencil in his day planner is the name of his next victim/client. This book is really clever and funny - I found myself often laughing while I was listening - great fun - 4 stars!

The Book of Unholy Mischief - Elle Newmark - This is definitely my kind of book - historic fiction, set in Renaissance Venice, main character is a chef's apprentice, lots of food discussions, what was there not to like? The book also has an exciting plot, centering around a 'book' that tells the secrets of Christianity and what REALLY happened to Jesus. A bit of a Da Vinci code type story, but a bit lighter and less gory. Good for historic fiction buffs - 4 stars.

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins - This is the highly anticipated sequel of The Hunger Games, one of my favorite audiobooks of the year. I listened to this book in just 2 days - I could not put it down. Gripping plot, same wonderful characters, definitely an easy book to recommend. But, although I gave The Hunger Games 5 stars, this one I'm only giving 4 stars. It's not because the plot or narration is disappointing - they were superb. But the first book raised so many great ethical questions about choosing values over physical survival. What would I do in that situation? Maybe because this book is a sequel with a smilar plot, I didn't find myself as disturbed. But, definitely a must listen if you enjoyed The Hunger Games - 4 stars.

The Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper - OK, let's start with what I enjoyed about this classic - great story and wonderful characters. In this book you really get a good mental picture of Hawkeye, the scout, and Uncas, the last purebred Mohican chief. You fall in love with Cora's heroism and you detest Magua as a treacherous villain. Now, what did I not like - the writing style! This book was so wordy and hard to slug through. Although I enjoyed all the conversations between the characters the descriptions were so tedious and peppered with footnotes. Toward the end of the book, I found myself fast forwarding through the footnotes - some of them were several tracks long! I can see why people love this book - what a great story! But does anyone like his writing style? Last of the Mohicans is the Last of Cooper's books for me! - 3 stars

Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury

Every once in a while i just have to read a Bradbury story to revel in his story telling. Farewell Summer is the sequel to Dandelion Wine. It's not as good as the original but i still really enjoyed it, laughing out loud at the antics of both the old men and the youth in the book. The premise of the story is that the local youths decide to try several tricks to keep summer from ever ending. It becomes a civil war between the old men who run the town and the youngsters.

a nice lite, fun read with a bit of magic thrown in.

Julie at All Ears wrote: "...The Last of the Mohicans ... Now, what did I not like - the writing style! This book was so wordy and hard to slug through...."

I just finished reading (not listening) to this book and loved it; however, the wordiness was obvious. I think it may have the same cause as Dicken's wordiness: paid by the word. I'm surprised the audio added the footnotes.

I read, not listened to, Mohicans a few years ago, and while it was wordy i still loved it too. Could the wordiness have been part of the era? Remember Cooper and Dickens and Wilkie Collins (Dickens contemporary and considered creator of the gothic mystery) and others of that time were really the pioneers of modern writing forms.

One other thought - not only has the language changed in the almost 200 years since Cooper's book but how people use language. People spoke with more formality and elegance than today's pared down and often abbreviated missives. What seems wordy to us may have been very common then. Remember the Leatherstocking series was wildly popular in it's day - the equivilent of James Bond or Tom Clancy novels.

My affection for Mohicans is based on growing up in that part of the world and being familiar with the area and it's history. I've read the book a couple times and enjoyed it greatly both times.

Don wrote: "Julie at All Ears wrote: "...The Last of the Mohicans ... Now, what did I not like - the writing style! This book was so wordy and hard to slug through...."

I just finished reading (not listening)..."

Yup! Every last word of them. Do you think they paid for the footnotes too?

In spite of the heavy prose of the book, I did find passages to be incredibly beautiful and moving - especially some of the scenes at the end. I thought Cora was a wonderful heroine, although Alice was pretty helpless and pathetic. I want to see the movie - people have told me that it is well done.

Julie at All Ears wrote: "I want to see the movie - people have told me that it is well done.
"

It quickly diverges from the book plot and has a very different ending, if I remember correctly.

I thought both Alice and Magua were weakly constructed--too one dimensional.

Don wrote:
It quickly diverges from the book plot and has a very different ending, if I remember correctly.

I ...

I found the movie too violent for my tastes. But then again i couldn't handle Brave Heart either.

I agree with your assessment of Alice and Magua. I never understood why Hawkeye the men liked Alice when Cora was sooo much more interesting. Magua was a missed opportunity on Cooper's part - but then properly constructed he could have stolen the show!